for M A R C H Webbing clothes moth PROPER NAME: Order Lepidoptera, Family Tineidae, Tineola bisselliela. WHEN MOST PREVALENT: Indoors all year round. SIZE RANGE: Adults are about 12mm from wingtip to wingtip; mature larvae are about 12mm long. [View magnified Insect] WARNINGS: Larvae of the webbing clothes moth feed on natural fabrics such as wools, cottons, and linens. However, they prefer soiled fabrics to clean fabrics, and usually only attack materials that are left undisturbed for long periods of time. Therefore, keeping clothes clean and using them regularily will discourage clothes moth infestations. If clothes must be stored for long periods of time, place them in sturdy plastic containers with tight fitting lids. Larvae of clothes moths can chew through thinner plastics such as drycleaning bags. Clothes moths do not feed as adults, so are harmless in this stage. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION: Cosmopolitan SOUNDS: None. Adult clothes moths are active at night, although you may find them in dark corners of your home during the day. They are poor fliers, so may also be found running across the surfaces of natural fabrics such as clothing and rugs. Larvae of clothes moths can be found in silken feeding tunnels well hidden within the fabrics they have infested. Female moths lay their eggs between the fibres of natural fabrics. Eggs take from a few days to a month to hatch, depending on temperature. Larvae live for a few weeks to a few years, again depending on temperature, and also on food supply and relative humidity. They molt many times during their development, growing larger with each molt. When mature, they spin a silken cocoon and pupate within. Adults emerge from these cocoons in 2-3 weeks, mate, lay eggs (females only), and die after only a few weeks. Clothes moth infestations often arise in homes when woolens and other natural fabrics are imported into the home from areas of the world where insect-proofing is not regularly done. FAMILY RELATIONS a) Family Tineidae, Tinea pellionella - the case making clothes moth. Almost as common as the webbing clothes moth in Canada. b) Close cousins: Family Tineidae, Trichophaga tapetzella - the carpet moth. Extremely rare in Canada. [TO TOP] [BUG of the MONTH TABLE] [HOME]